Notorious B.I.G. Moco — Da Kitchen (Maui, Hawaii)

Chef Les Tomita brings island comfort food to the table with this mammoth twist on a traditional Hawaiian loco moco. The base of the dish starts with fried rice and gets layered with a pork burger soaked in gravy, homemade chili, cheese and Portuguese sausage.

Chapulines Tacos — Taquiza (Miami Beach)

Taquiza prides itself on serving the best quality tortillas from sustainably sourced organic blue corn. This unique taco features crunchy, nutty grasshoppers. They're placed on a bed of guacamole and served on the blue corn tortillas.

Tuckaway Tavern not only operates as a restaurant, but also a butcher shop that processes all the meats for service. This monster burger is layered with an intense amount of meat and flavor. Chuck angus beef forms the patty that's topped with fried chicken, applewood bacon, white cheddar and a squeeze of housemade Tuck sauce.

Pig Head Platter — Vida Cantina (Portsmouth, New Hampshire)

Chef and owner David Vargas serves up traditional Mexican food with a contemporary twist. Half of a pig's head is served on a platter accompanied by salsas and tortillas. For the finishing touch, Vargas adorns the pig's head with pretty freshly picked edible flowers.

Grilled Octopus — Standard Tap (Philadelphia)

Standard Tap features a revolving American menu and an array of draft beer offerings. For this dish, whole fresh octopus is boiled until tender, then tossed in a marinade. The tentacles are pulled apart and grilled for a light char.

Oxtail Chili Tots — Belly and Snout (Los Angeles)

Belly and Snout fuses Filipino, Mexican and American fast-food culture, creating a mash-up of dishes. Chef Warren Almeda channels his childhood by braising oxtails to make this richly seasoned chili to top fresh-out-of-the-fryer tots.

Booze Burger — Paradise Valley Burger (Scottsdale)

According to chef and owner Brett Shapiro, "a burger should speak to you," and his signature Booze Burger speaks volumes. He layers two patties on a griddled brioche bun, adds country gravy and finally piles on the fried onions.

Dinner Cannoli — A Taste of Home Cooking (Wheat Ridge, Colorado)

A Taste of Home Cooking brings customers no-fuss home cooking that tastes like your mother was in the kitchen. Instead of classic sweet cannoli, Chef Rob Rotella creates a savory meal: Housemade sausage is wrapped in jalapenos and dough, then topped with provolone cheese and marinara sauce.

Bulgogi Masa Fries — Tacopocalypse (Des Moines)

Chef Sam Auen, former metal musician and sushi chef, ties his past experiences together to create multiple flavor profiles at Tacopocalypse. He tosses chuck round in a soy-based marinade and throws it onto the grill to make Korean-style bulgogi. Masa flour and potatoes are mixed to form the fries that he tops with the bulgogi.

Braised Ox Cheek — Bird of Smithfield (London)

Guy hopped across the pond to London to check out the city's most-popular eats. Bird of Smithfield serves traditional dishes with a modern upgrade. For this braised ox cheek, Chef Allen Bird takes an atypical part of beef to make an upscale British comfort dish.

Korean Hot Dog — Senate Pub (Cincinnati)

Senate Pub is known for dressing up ordinary street food with gourmet flair. This Korean hot dog includes braised short ribs and housemade kimchi. It's sauced with a harissa aioli and layered with pickled cucumbers.

Cinnamon Roll — Mountain Shadows (Colorado Springs)

Mountain Shadows is a family-owned and -operated business serving comfort food for more than 25 years. This colossal cinnamon roll is made to share. The dough rises to an elevated height once it’s baked, and then it's smothered with a maple cinnamon "madness" glaze.